Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Brussels to engage in a series of meetings aimed at seeking support from European partners in response to Russia’s attacks.
The Ukrainian has signed a bilateral security deal with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo that includes at least €977 million in Belgian military aid to Ukraine.
“For the first time, such an agreement specifies the exact number of F-16 fighter jets – 30 – that will be delivered to Ukraine until 2028, with the first arriving already this year.” Zelenskyy said in his X account.
Zelenskyy will also visit a military airbase in the Belgian capital and meet instructors helping to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 jets.
Belgium has pledged to supply fighter aircraft to Kyiv as part of a broader initiative by European allies and hopes to begin deliveries this year.
Zelenskyy’s Belgium visit comes a day after he travelled to Spain and successfully secured a Spanish pledge of additional air defence missiles. This will help fend off roughly 3,000 bombs Russia fires at the country every month.
Despite the win, the Ukrainian leader said he still needs US-made Patriot air defences to counter Kremlin attacks on the heavily-hit power grid and civilian areas.
“If we had these modern Patriot systems, (Russian) airplanes wouldn’t be able to fly close enough to drop the bombs on the civilian population and the military,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference in the Spanish capital.
